Author: Faith Strailey

Democracy Matters

Democracy Matters – Your Vote Matters

Your Vote Counts!Our country was founded on the principles of a Representative Democracy where the citizens eligible to vote would get together from time to time to elect the Representatives who would then go to a certain place to form a congress and conduct the business of the government for the people. The framers wrote into our Constitution certain provisions designed to protect certain rights reserved to the people and certain rights reserved to the states ALL of which was designed to restrict and limit the ruling power, authority and ability of the Federal Government. This was and remains a grand idea which was designed to prevent an authoritarian type of government which was the primary type of government existing during the time that our government was formed in the late 1700’s. This type of government was called DEMOCRACY and relied on an INFORMED ELECTORATE to vote for their INDIVIDUAL VESTED INTERESTS thereby providing the final balance between the people and the rulers.

The Democratic system ONLY works well when (more…)

Political Action Posts

Take Political Action: Contact LaMalfa, Feinstein, Harris

Make 6 contacts to legislators a day!

LaMalfa

Watch LaMalfaOppose HR 861, which terminates the EPA. The EPA is essential to protecting our health. No corporation should be allowed to make a profit at the expense of the American public. Medical and environmental problems resulting from industrial pollution of our water, air, and soil and destruction of our natural resources are not acceptable.

Oppose HR 226, the African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Act. This law applies to ivory obtained before 2014. It opens the floodgates to the sale and trade of illegal ivory and the continued slaughter of this incredible animal. American citizens are one of the worlds biggest consumers of elephant ivory. We are fueling the African elephant extinction (more…)

Trump’s First 100 days: Lies, Falsehoods, and Assault on American Progressive Ideals

A Partial Record of Trump’s Executive Orders & Directives

Weekly entries are posted in descending order.

Trump Chokes

Fourteenth Week of the Trump Presidency

  • Trump has only introduced 1 out of the 10 major pieces of legislation for whose passage he vowed to fight in the first 100 days of his administration.
  • Trump’s new tax plan overwhelmingly favors the rich. It cuts corporate taxes to 15%, repeals the inheritance tax, and cuts the capital gains tax which funds the ACA. Cost analysis projects that trillions of dollars will be added to the national debt.
  • Trump is hoping to give a 4 billion dollar tax cut to his kids as he takes away health care from millions of Americans. Many are cautiously optimistic that Trumpcare 2 will fail to get to a floor vote due to bipartisan opposition.
  • Trump said he is considering proposals to dissolve the 9th circuit court for blocking his executive orders. The court contends they are unconstitutional.
  • Trump wants to completely defund the state department’s Office for International Women’s Empowerment.
  • Trump threatened Canadians that he would pull the U.S. out of NAFTA over milk and softwoods, but then said that instead of abandoning NAFTA, he may renegotiate it.
  • Trump signed an executive order instructing the Department of the Interior to review all national monuments created through the “Antiquities Act” since (more…)

Resistance Resources

How to Get Out of the Cycle of Outrage in a Trump World

The following is an excerpt from The Huffington Post

If we live in a perpetual state of outrage, Trump wins.

Interfaith rally for Muslims & refugeesSo whatever you do, don’t just let yourself get stuck in the outrage storm — that particular weather pattern is likely to be here for a long time. Remember, you have the power to step out of the storm, think carefully about how best to channel your valuable energy, and then take action. And there are so many ways to do that.

Laura Moser is a freelance writer and mother in Washington, D.C. After the election, she found she couldn’t disengage. So to channel her energy, and that of others as well, she created Daily Action, a daily text people can sign up for that gives them one concrete and specific action to take. In just a matter of weeks, she’s amassed over 100,000 subscribers. One is Aaron Becker, an author from Massachusetts. “People are feeling fatigue,” he told the Washington Post. “We are not really designed as human beings to take on the responsibility of everything at once.” But since channeling his energy in a specific way, he’s gotten a measure of control back in his life. “Now I feel like I can turn off my browser window and do some work,” he said.

And there are plenty of other groups doing a similar thing — making it easy to channel that outrage in productive ways that can change outcomes.

Read the whole article on HuffPost here.

Other Resources

  • The Indivisible Guide bills itself as a “practical guide to resisting the Trump agenda,” and also shows you how to get involved with one of the over 4,500 local indivisible groups that have already been started.
  • 5 Calls gives you five calls that you can make in five minutes.
  • The Resistance Manual is an open source guide to taking action on a range of issues.
  • #ResistTrumpTuesday is a way to do more than call! Show up at their offices on Tuesdays!

Doug LaMalfa – Not One of Us

Doug LaMalfa has been our congressional representative for two terms. During his tenure he has shown little concern for the public welfare.

Govtrak.org.us indicates that LaMalfa rarely supports bipartisan bills. In fact, 91% of the bills that LaMalfa supported were of Republican origin. He voted for the government shut down giving government workers an unexpected paid holiday, costing contract government workers lost wages, and denying U.S. citizens access to government services.

LaMalfa has a 14% rating from AFL-CIO based on his lack of support for working families, even opposing workplace safety regulations. He opposes (more…)

Inequality for All

Inequality for All author, robert reichPCDCC’s March 30, 2016 public showing of Robert Reich’s movie, “Inequality For All”, was attended by a standing room only audience. The movie provided facts, figures, and graphical representations of how political changes have resulted in a reduction of the economic well being of the average American despite the fact that the U.S. economy has continued to grow.

The disparity between the relative wealth of the top 1% and the other 99% of America’s population has reached levels not seen since the economic crash of 1929. America’s 400 wealthiest individuals hold 50% of our nation’s wealth. Rather than investing their wealth in creating jobs and increasing wages for the American worker, CEOS, business leaders, and shareholders use corporate loopholes and investments that lower their tax responsibility, maximize profits for stakeholders and create more wealth for themselves. Simply put, the rich get richer!

This situation was brought about by tax cuts for the wealthy during the Reagan years and legislation that benefited the rich in succeeding years. These changes have resulted in stagnating wages for workers and lost revenues to the government. Lost revenues have resulted in a reduction of public funding to provide services, build our infrastructure, and support our educational systems. In addition, inflation continues to rise and Americans do not have the buying power that they had in the 70”s and 80’s. As a consequence, the average American carries a greater financial burden.

No matter which political party a person supports, all American workers and small business owners are affected. The problem must be corrected. We can make changes that benefit the 99%. Educating ourselves on the facts is an essential step in the right direction. I highly recommend viewing this movie if you haven’t already seen it. It is well worth watching!

Faith Strailey
PCDCC Chair